Encompassing nearly a quarter of the Arctic, Canada is a leading contributor to the fourth International Polar Year (IPY), an ambitious program of scientific research on the Arctic and Antarctic involving more than 60 countries.
The magnitude of Canada’s IPY effort is as sweeping as the Arctic itself: 1,750 researchers working on 52 projects, from the Yukon to northern Labrador. Their main focus is climate change impacts and adaptation and the health and well-being of Northerners, two of the most pressing issues in the Canadian Arctic.
Conducting research in the North is challenging: scientists contend with extreme weather, physical, arduous work and basic living conditions, not to mention the complex logistics and expense of reaching remote locations. It’s all in the name of fostering a more complete understanding of the Arctic — the lasting legacy of IPY.
On the Yukon’s spectacular Chilkoot Trail, researchers collect soil samples for a study on the sources and intercontinental movement of air pollution to the Canadian Arctic. Chemicals such as PCBs and mercury accumulate in the food chain, which may pose health risks for northern residents. Photograph by: Frank Wania
IPY Photo Exhibit: Photo 6
At Tellik Inlet, near Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Inuit hunters collect blocks from an iceberg for drinking water for their community. More than 500 Northerners are involved in International Polar Year science projects — including one on the many ways in which Inuit use sea ice — bridging traditional knowledge with western science. Photograph by: Gita Laidler
IPY Photo Exhibit: Photo 21
Northern lights form a luminous backdrop to a guide’s igloo in the Ungava Peninsula of Nunavik (northern Quebec), the site of a project on the cryosphere — the frozen portions of the Earth’s surface. The cryosphere is changing rapidly, affecting the safety of winter transportation routes and a wide range of everyday activities in the Arctic. Photograph by: Arvids Silis
Arctic Vision: IPY Photo Exhibit
Encompassing nearly a quarter of the Arctic, Canada is a leading contributor to the fourth International Polar Year (IPY), an ambitious program of scientific research on the Arctic and Antarctic involving more than 60 countries.
The magnitude of Canada’s IPY effort is as sweeping as the Arctic itself: 1,750 researchers working on 52 projects, from the Yukon to northern Labrador. Their main focus is climate change impacts and adaptation and the health and well-being of Northerners, two of the most pressing issues in the Canadian Arctic.
Conducting research in the North is challenging: scientists contend with extreme weather, physical, arduous work and basic living conditions, not to mention the complex logistics and expense of reaching remote locations. It’s all in the name of fostering a more complete understanding of the Arctic — the lasting legacy of IPY.
Arctic Vision: IPY Photo Exhibit
Excerpts
IPY Photo Exhibit: Photo 4
Photograph by: Frank Wania
IPY Photo Exhibit: Photo 6
Photograph by: Gita Laidler
IPY Photo Exhibit: Photo 21
Photograph by: Arvids Silis